Zero Motorcycles announced a new “Cash for Carbon” promotion, offering a $2500 bonus on trade-ins of gas-powered motorcycles when purchasing a new 2012 model.

A take on U.S. government’s 2009 “Cash for Clunkers” Car Allowance Rebate System, Zero will give consumers the $2500 on top of the regular trade-in value of their old internal combustion engined motorcycles for one of Zero’s electric models. The Cash for Carbon campaign runs from Jan. 1 to March 31.

The trade-in incentive is on top of the 10% tax credit for electric motorcycles that was recently renewed as part of the governement’s American Tax Relief Act of 2012 (a.k.a. the Fiscal Cliff act.)

“Similar to the ‘cash for clunkers’ government promotion in 2009, Zero aims to entice traditional internal combustion engine motorcycle owners to make the switch to electric,” says Scot Harden , vice president of global marketing for Zero Motorcycles. “In offering a $2,500 trade in bonus for new customers, we expect this promotion to be a great sales tool for our nationwide dealer network.”

Currently, Zero is also offering a 0% financing offer for 12 months on its models, providing added incentive to go electric with a Zero motorcycle.